Meet the Best Friend to Your Business

BLUEDOG

BLUEDOG was founded on the idea that Merchant Service Providers can do better.

At BLUEDOG, we’re mindful of our customer’s bottom line, which is why we emphasize a customer-first approach to everything we do. From providing unbeatable pricing on merchant services to dedicated customer support and a wide array of flexible payment solutions, BLUEDOG is fixing the merchant services industry one best friend at a time.

The Story of BLUEDOG

What does BLUEDOG mean? Well, the name comes from a child’s?stuffed toy,?but there’s a little?more to the story than that. Blue dog belongs to the son of Ron Dichter, BLUEDOG’s CEO. Ron’s son?brought?blue dog?with him everywhere, the two were?inseparable. Blue dog was?his son’s best friend.?

Then, one day, he lost his blue dog.?Ron and his wife spent hours searching for blue dog. They looked in?every room of the house, the car, the other car, the garbage,?they?couldn’t find it anywhere. Just as they were about to give up, they decided to look in one more?place and there blue dog was,?sitting outside on the swing. Ron quickly returned the toy to his son and saw his face light up like never before. It was at that moment he understood what blue dog really meant to his son.?

At?that moment Ron realized that,?to be the best it wasn’t enough to?just be a trusted?advisor or a?knowledgeable?resource. He understood that to really stand out, customers should feel that?same sense of joy when?working with us. We need to be your company’s BLUEDOG –?your company’s best friend.

22 years of experience in payments meets an all-around great team of collaborators focused on providing exceptional, customer-first products & services.

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#TEAMBLUEDOG

Ron Eliot Dichter

Despite living by the beach, I’m a mountain guy at heart and Park City, Utah is my all-time favorite spot!

Can you play any instruments? If so, which ones?

I’ve been known to strum a guitar and bust out in song from time-to-time.

What was your first job?

It was technically working at Taco Bell, but I had two jobs in high school at the same time. That one, and the one I most remember, which was selling T-shirts on a busy street corner in downtown Anchorage, Alaska. The tourists would get off the cruise ships and I’d come up with clever ways for them to win a free T-shirt, which led to them buying more T-shirts.

What was the last book you read and what did you think of it?

“Trust Me, I’m Lying” by Ryan Holiday – Great inside scoop from an executive of a large fashion brand talking about the media and how easily the perception can be manipulated by a deep understanding of how markets work.

“No matter what… always take the high road.”

— Fredric Dichter

Director of Sales

Joshua Bryant

If a movie was made of your life, who would play you? Why?

I can’t answer this question but I can answer what my favorite movie is and why. It’s a two way tie between Forrest Gump and Saving Private Ryan.? Both movies encourage us all to live every day of our lives to the fullest!?

If you could visit anywhere in the world you’ve?never been, where would you go?

Amalfi Coast, but would love to not just visit but play Augusta National!

What’s the best meal you’ve ever had?

18oz “bone-in” fillet from Mastro’s City Hall in Scottsdale AZ!

“Heroes may not be braver than anyone else. They’re just braver 5 minutes longer.”

— Ronald Reagan

Director of Operations

Andrew Roman

Which emoji is your most used emoji?

Winking Face!!! It’s my way of saying you’re cool in a personal, or professional way. Maybe not so professionally, but you get what I mean. ??

Who is your least favorite superhero? Why?

Green Lantern – He’s not inspiring enough and I give him very little credit, even though he contributes. I also don’t like the color green with the exception of Money ??…

What is your favorite ’90s jam?

Kriss Kross – “Jump” and so many others. If I can bop my head to it and it’s not a slow jam, chances are I’ll like it. ??

“If you can’t fly, then run, if you can’t run, then walk, if you can’t walk, then crawl, but whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward”

— Stuart Scott

Senior Inside Sales Manager

Dominic Traverzo

What was the best concert you have ever attended?

Stereolab at the Variety Playhouse in Atlanta, Georgia on December 11, 1999. I actually yelled out “I make love to your music!” and Laetitia smiled and said “sank u” in a perfect French voice. Afterwards, my best friend leapt on stage and snatched the set list from behind the drums. We waited over an hour and met the band. They all signed the set list and my ticket. Laetitia and Tim gave me a big hug.

What is the first thing on your recently watched list on Netflix?

Happy as Lazzaro

Do you have any secret talents? If so, what?

I can make fart noises with my hands AND my neck.

“Nah, he was sniffing glue in the parking lot.”

— Roy Munson (Kingpin)

Account Executive

Jon Leibowitz

What’s your favorite cereal? Why?

Coco pufffffffffffsssssss Best of both worlds choc milk and cereal at the same time

What were you doing before this job?

I was a chef.

What was your all-time, best-ever Halloween costume?

Super Mario

“Life is like a box of chocolate. Never know what you going to get.”

— Forest Gump

Inside Sales Trainer

Angie Gaines

What is the most interesting thing you have in your purse?

Fork and spoon.

Do you have any phobias?

Being in a small space for a long time without any food, water or a bathroom.

You have to sing karaoke for a packed room. What song do you choose?

“Lean on me” by Bill Withers

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”

Jason Ground

I hate the idea of being sent off by one single band, but if I had to choose one, it would be Queens of the Stone Age as long as Dave Grohl was on drums.

How do you like your eggs?

Scrambled is always a safe and versatile choice, but I’m never going to say no to deviled eggs.

If you could bring back any fashion trend what would it be?

I would bring back the trend of not wearing high-waisted pants. The fact that the same people who originally made them fashionable easily transitioned into mom jeans strongly suggests they make bad choices.

“Better is possible. It does not take genius. It takes diligence. It takes moral clarity. It takes ingenuity. And above all, it takes a willingness to try.”

— Atul Gawande

Operations Manager

Sarah Birkin

What was your childhood nickname?

Bubbles. When I played club softball I was always the happy, peppy and cheery one. My coach would always say I could make anyone as happy as a 2-year-old playing with bubbles…and it stuck.

How did you celebrate your last birthday?

I celebrated my last birthday by going drinking around the world at Epcot in Disneyworld.

What movie could you watch repeatedly?

Pride and Prejudice.

“Some say fate is beyond our command, but I know better. Our destiny is within us. You just have to be brave enough to see it.”

— Merida, Brave

Senior Graphic Designer

Jennifer Peragine

Have you ever met anybody famous?

I will limit this to my two favorites.. just to keep this as short as I can.. but also have some story to it??? One of my favorites was Jamie Lee Curtis. She is a super sweet woman and at the time she was in love with my daughter and was trying to trade me movie props from the original movie Halloween for her as a joke. Meeting her ended up in the credits of the 35th anniversary?edition of Halloween. One of the fun items I will give my daughter when she is older & gets all her life?keepsakes I’ve saved for her. Hopefully?they still have Blu-Ray players at that time. Lol???The other favorite?would have to be Page Joseph Falkinburg, which most people know as “DDP” or “Diamond Dallas Page” from the WWF… my dad watched wrestling my entire life, so I grew up watching him.. which brings me to why he was my other favorite… he had a huge line of people (50+ at least) to meet him and he took my cell phone & called my father for 45 minutes and just talked to him about whatever my dad wanted to talk about. To my dad, that meant the world.. to me it showed me that he was human and being who he is to his fans is really just his job. He really cares about his fans and it was heartwarming. He was also with the actor Danny Trejo.. so that was fun too..?

If you had just 1 box for your stuff, what 5 items would you put in it?

Since my family & pets aren’t “stuff” this isn’t as hard as it could be…

1. As sad as I am to say this, my phone would be first. Reason being… it has my photos & music, in addition to my contact to the world & the ability to pay for things (clothing, food, bills, etc.). No need for a charger, I’ll borrow one…2. My journal w/pen attached…3. A tent – shelter4. A bike – transportation5. My preserved Bat named Bob… Because it’s a preserved bat.. and it’s creepy & awesome.

Vampire or werewolf? Why?

Vampire… of course. I would not be happy about the blood part.. but I’d deal with it to have pet bats, sleep in a weird eerie coffin, live in an AMAZING Victorian/Gothic castle, be immortal/make everyone you love immortal….?Live every single day as if it were the best Halloween you ever had..?Also, wet dogs smell… I couldn’t handle that smell being me.

“Whether you realize it or not, you’re someone’s reason to be better.”

— JmStorm

Inside Sales Manager

Nick Underwood

The zombie apocalypse is coming, who are 3 people you want on your team?

Jason Statham, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Jon Snow.

What’s your favorite flavor of Pringles?

Jalape?o.

What would you name your boat if you had one?

Aquaholic.

“Remember, the saddest thing in life is wasted talent. You could have all the talent in the world, but if you don’t do the right thing then nothing happens.”

Derek Durrant

Adults have to use their allowance to buy things they need and not just toys and candy, but they want to buy more candy and toys so I help them save more of their allowance, so they can get it.

What celebrity annoys you the most?

Short answer: Kanye West because he’s arrogant and self-absorbed.

“Life is a storm, my young friend. You will bask in the sunlight one moment, be shattered on the rocks the next. What makes you a man is what you do when that storm comes. You must look into that storm and shout as you did in Rome. Do your worst, for I will do mine! Then the fates will know you as we know you.”

— Count of Monte Cristo

Technical Support Advisor

James Gilbert

What’s your pet peeve?

People that drive in the fast lane and will not move over!

What’s the 1 dish you absolutely, positively will never, ever eat?

Live fish!

Batman or Superman? Why?

Batman. He is human and when it got bad he rangered-up to the challenge and took the fight to them.

“Pain is weakness leaving the body.”

— Every Ranger Instructor I ever had.

Inside Sales Manager

Archie Godfrey

What’s in your sandwich?

Growing up as a child, it’s the only thing I found in my lunch box. I didn’t buy lunch or even pack lunchmeat. My mom always packed me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, chips, an apple and I got milk from the school. So for me, it’s definitely a pbj filling in the sandwich.

What was your favorite toy as a kid?

Matchbox cars- My grandmother always sent these to me in care packages and I always wanted to be a NASCAR driver, but my size (6’6” and 260 lbs.) precluded me from that position. Also, my mom and sisters told me I was crazy for wanting to be one.

If you could be any animal in the world, what animal would you be and why?

Lion- It was my high school mascot, it’s the king of the savannah, and it is an imperative part of the ecological process in it’s habitat. I see myself as a lion due to numerous reasons but the best one is that when I walk in a room people notice. There’s no hiding my presence.

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then is not an act, but a habit.”

— Aristotle

Marketing Administrator

Shivani Rao

What word did you pronounce wrong as a child?

I used to call the utility room the “yew-tee-lew-tee” room. And nobody thought to correct me for the longest time?

If you had a movie made about you, what would it be titled?

A Series of Awkward Events.

Favorite country you have visited? Why?

Italy, because nothing beats beautiful views, delicious food, happy locals and spontaneous wine tasting with one of your best friends in the world.

“I’ve been thinking about it, and that poem, that guy that wrote it, he meant you’re gold when you’re a kid, like green. When you’re a kid everything’s new, dawn. It’s just when you get used to everything that it’s day. Like the way you dig sunsets, Pony. That’s gold. Keep that way, it’s a good way to be.”

— Jerry Garcia

James Giampietro

Which four individuals, living or dead, would you want to eat dinner with?

The four individuals I’d eat dinner with would be my Aunt Barb, my mother, my father, and my grandfather. My Aunt Barb was like my second mother and passed away when I was in high school, I never met my grandfather since he passed away before I was born so they would have to be involved in the dinner.

“It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.”

— Mark Twain

Channel Manager - Partnerships

Jeffrey Haughton

What is one of your favorite smells?

I love the smell of last night’s camp fire when the sun comes up in the morning. Nothing better in the world in my opinion.

What fictional place would you most like to go?

So many choices, but I would have to say Middle Earth – quests with dwarves, elves & hobbits what else could anyone ask for?

Finish this sentence: On Sunday mornings, you can usually find me….

Checking the surf report or headed to the beach with family and friends.

“When you stop doing things for fun, you might as well be dead.”

— Ernest Hemingway

Customer Analyst

Matthew Loye

What’s your favorite type of cookie?

Peanut butter cookie.

If you could live in another country for one year, which country would it be? Why?

Malta, so I could take different cruises to ancient sites in the Mediterranean Sea.

What was your last dream about?

My last dream was a visit with someone who I don’t remember knowing in a place familiar but I never lived. Pretty boring and hard to understand. ??

“Playoffs? Don’t talk about – PLAYOFFS? You kidding me? Playoffs? I just hope we can win a game!”

— Jim Mora, Former coach of the Indianapolis Colts?

Peter Katsianis

At job would you be terrible and why?

Some people have an irrational fear of clowns… mine is feet. Friends and family have used this knowledge in a variety of ever-surprising and creative scenarios that resolves invariably into me fleeing to the amusement of the perpetrator(s).

What do you listen to in the car?

On the way to work I typically listen to the news.On the way home from work I play music and depending on what type of mood I am in the type of music varies.?On long trips I will usually play an audio book.

What are some causes you care about?

We’ve seen Americans willfully come together and produce billions in charitable aid without coercion or mandate.$3.16 billion in the case of the 2004 Asian Tsunami.?For my personal causes I act anonymously born only out of personal compulsion and not for notoriety, acceptance, or praise. ??

Blue because it’s the most popular color, they’ll never get rid of it, and I work for BLUEDOG so therefore it’s the best!

“In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity.”?

— Albert Einstein

Sales Advisor

Steve Fulginiti

How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

What do you mean? An African or European woodchuck?

What is your favorite sundae topping?

Hot fudge.

If you could witness any event past, present or future, what would it be?

The Construction of Stonehenge, because I just want to ask those guys: why?

“If I had six hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend the first four hours sharpening my axe.”

— Abraham Lincoln

Junior Customer Analyst

Liam Lewis

DC or Marvel? Why?

Detective Comics over Marvel all the way. Though I’m young, I still have utmost appreciation for the creativity and originality that went into creating the first super heroes. I identify more with Bruce Wayne than Peter Parker any day of the week.

What’s the weirdest thing you have eaten?

I ate a few ants back in the day. Not proud of it, but I was at the time.

“There is nothing impossible to him who will try.”

— Alexander the Great

Elizabeth Rhone

If you were home on a rainy Sunday afternoon, what movie would you most want to see on television?

If I was home on a rainy day I would watch Jurassic Park or some sort of shark movie because my sons love those type of movies and I don’t mind them either. If I was home alone, I would probably watch Dirty Dancing because I have always loved that movie since I was a child.

What are the last three emojis you used?

??????

If you could disinvent one thing, what would it be and why?

If I could disinvent one thing it would probably be social media to a certain extent because that is all this world is based on nowadays. It has people not knowing how to communicate, their minds all into their phones rather than their friends and loved ones, & it has some people always looking at celebrities and wishing they could look a certain way. Social media has a lot pros as well but those are some of the cons I feel social media brings with this day in age.

— Facebook Quote

Visual Designer

Melissa Ginoza

If you could choose any animal to be your permanent sidekick, what animal would it be and why?

A capybara. They have the unofficial title as the friendliest animal in the world – you can see them cuddling with hawks, cats, even crocodiles! They’re very open-minded and enjoy the most natural luxuries in life, including seeping into a hot spring. My sidekick capybara and I would trudge into a hot spring, ignore the woes of the daily toil, and contemplate life while staring at Mt. Fuji.

I have this beta fish named Ambrosia. I learned more about the nitrogen cycle taking care of him than I did in college biology. Who knew fish could poop could be so complex?

“Act justly, love mercy, walk humbly.”

— Micah 6:8

Outside Sales Manager

Patrick Toole

What’s the best type of cheese?

Burrata and brie.

What is something you refuse to share?

I refuse to share my secrets of the Universe.

If you could go back in time to any era, which would it be? Why?

I would like to go back to 400 BCE, during the Golden Age and speak with Athenian Philosopher, Plato and his most famous student, Aristotle. A time when I could join in on the Peloponnesian War and witness the time of Sparta’s final defeat of Athens..

“Thus shall ye think of all this fleeting world;

A star at dawn, a bubble in a stream,

A flash of lightning in a summer cloud,

A flickering lamp, a phantom, and a dream.”

— Diamond Sutra, ca. fourth century CE

Rep Support Associate

Jeff Edwards

What gets you out of bed in the morning?

The beeping of the coffee machine – it’s like an alarm.

What’s in your fridge right now?

Beer, and some food to go along with it.

If you could trade lives with anyone, who would it be and why?

No one, because then I wouldn’t have my wonderful wife, family and friends. But, I wouldn’t mind living Josh Groban’s life – recording albums, touring the world and earning a very comfortable living by singing.

“To search for perfection is all very well, but to look for heaven is to live here in hell.”

Alex Murchison

If you had to work, but didn’t need the money, what would you choose to do? Why?

Storm chaser. Sounds like a lot of fun and I would have the money to pay for any injuries.

What was the last movie, TV show or book that made you cry or tear up?

I’m not much of a crier.

“Face front, true believers!”

— Stan Lee

Junior Customer Analyst

Michael Uga

What did you do last night?

Yesterday I spent the day with my mother and sister. We went to lunch and had drinks and for dinner, we had snow crab legs that were delicious. After dinner, I proceeded to relax by playing Call of Duty and watching some TV.

What artist would you want to sing a duet with?

Well I wish I could sing, but I sound more like a dying animal. That being said, I would have to sing a song that doesn’t take much talent. I would choose to do a duet with John Mayer.

What makes you smile?

I smile the most when I come home and my dog greets me with the same love, excitement and effort every time. What makes me smile is the love for my dog because she is beyond sweet and her love for me is pure and precious.

“Life must be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”

— Soren Kierkegaard

Junior Customer Analyst

Andre Anderson

What’s the last show you binge watched?

The Mandalorian!

If you could relive one year of your life, which year would you pick and why?

2015 easily. It was the first year I moved down to FL and lived in Orlando- one of the best years of my life!

What’s your favorite midnight snack?

Cookies and cream ice cream!

“You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them.”

— Michael Jordan

Junior Customer Analyst

Karen Toms

Where do you mind not waiting?

An airport, because I know I will be going to see family or going on an adventure.

If you had access to a time machine, where would you go? Why?

Queen Elizabeth’s coronation. I love all the pomp and circumstance of the Royals.

“Big money moves slow!”

— Joshua Bryant

Moxie

I’d have to say Buddy. He starred as himself in Air Bud and as Comet in Full House. He’s cute as heck.

Do you have any fears?

Vacuums, those are always doin’ me a fighten.

What do you like to do in your free time?

Hunt lizards and hang with other doggos.

“A dog doesn’t care if you’re rich or poor, educated or illiterate, clever or dull. Give him your heart and he will give you his.”

— Marley and Me

Coming Soon

Coming Soon

Where is BLUEDOG?

BLUEDOG’s corporate office is located in the beautiful Vero Beach, Florida.

In an effort to better serve our customers, we recently moved to the Downtown area, closer to some of Vero’s best home-made drinks, delicious food, and various artworks. We’re excited to share with you the details. Follow us on Facebook?or?Instagram to learn more.